The one time it’s OK not to pay off a debt

First of all, always pay off your debts. You borrowed money from somebody for something that you wanted, and to not pay them back is unethical.

Having said that, there are many sleazy debt companies out there. They buy defaulted debt from the creditors for pennies on the dollar. Read this following article for details, but if someone is threatening you to pay back your debt, and it is not the actual company that you borrowed from, then think twice before you pay up! Your credit score has already taken the hit by the time it gets to these debt collectors.

It’s not always a good idea to pay off old debts. In fact, making even a small payment on an old debt can be the worst thing you could do for your finances.